hurricane-force winds in lake erie and lake michigan. and then, that storm continues east, right in time for the holidays. the strongest northwest storm of the season blew in monday, with winds reaching 100 miles per hour. knocking out power lines, bringing down trees and creating blizzard conditions in the washington/oregon cascade mountains. just south of tacoma, washington, a tree fell into this house. puncturing the ceiling of a baby's room and narrowly missing his crib. the baby was unharmed. washington to utah is feeling the cold air of this storm and expecting up to three feet of snow. 17 states are in winter weather warnings and watches. from the northwest to arizona and all the way into minnesota and wisconsin. by wednesday, the storm is expected to move further east and cover parts of the midwest, from denver, to chicago, with 4 to 12 inches of snow. and later in the week, the same storm will produce severe weather in southern states, with possible tornados. and by friday, the northeast could be hit with one to two inches of he